Round 2 & 3 Highlights - 2010 Billabong Pro Tahiti
Event No. 5 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti played host to an incredible day of action, with major shifts in the hunt for the ASP World Title as well as surfers falling off the Dream Tour, the result of the midyear cut-off from the ASP Top 45 to the Top 34 (Top 32 finishers plus two surfer wildcards).
Manoa Drollet (PYF), 29, local Tahitian wildcard, caused the upset of the event today, eliminating current ASP World No. 1, Jordy Smith (ZAF), 22, from Billabong Pro Tahiti competition in Round 3. The quiet Tahitian utilized his intimate knowledge of the break and picked off the better set waves to control the heat and come away from with the win.
"He (Smith) was sitting on priority and he only needed a small wave at one point," Drollet said. "He waited forever and he didn't catch anything. I have a good knowledge here. I've been doing water patrol so I've been watching the event and analyzing the guys' strategies a lot. I managed to get scores and get back in the lead there towards the end. I was expecting Jordy (Smith) to come back with a 9 at anytime."
Despite the loss, Smith remained gracious in defeat and positive as he transitions to the next event in California.
"It was pretty tough out there," Smith said. "Wave-starved a bit and difficult to find the right one. I got an average one in the beginning and the cut my hand on the reef. Some heats go like that. You live and learn, and I'm looking forward to the next one at Trestles."
Immediately following Smith's ousting, Kelly Slater (USA), 38, past nine-time ASP World Champion scored a sensational come-from-behind victory to overtake dangerous wildcard Heiarii Williams (PYF), 23. Needing a major score with moments remaining Slater failed to emerge from an excellent wave, only to paddle straight into another impressive barrel to secure the 8.80 and the win.
"I knew what he (Williams) was going to do from the beginning," Slater said. "He and Manoa (Drollet) have the same game plan: be patient and they know the wave better than anyone. He was going to play it smart; he did that in the first heat too. I had a couple of average waves before getting an okay one. I took one at the end, probably the best wave of the heat, and I got too greedy and fell. When I came out, there was one that popped up right away and I was fortunate to get it."
With his Round 3 victory, Slater moves from No. 3 to No. 2 in the hunt for the 2010 ASP World Title, but the Floridian is pragmatic when discussing his campaign this season.
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